Night of the Ashes
by Game-Start
Summary: In the year 2167, tele-communications have failed as well as electrical and nuclear power. The samurai clans are in control of Japan. Yuki Hideyasu sent his only son to the Earth in an attempt to aid the human race in this time of peril, and later in his life he encounters Jubei and Samanosuke's descendants. The trio is bound together by fate to take down the heir to the Oda name.
1. Birth of a Hero

The year was 2167. Japan was in the midst of a great samurai revival after the collapse of the planet's technological communications and electric grids. Nuclear power was now a completely unheard of thought after a major plant melt down in Russia. A young man and his wife explored to bamboo forest around them in search of a chimpanzee whom they shared a home with. The chimpanzee was not their pet, but the man had previously treated it's wounds and because of the, the primate became a part of their family. The searched and searched under the blanket of the night sky, when all of a sudden the forest grew silent. Not a single sound could be heard from the nature surrounding them, and the man called his wife to a stop. Ash began fluttering down from the sky, and a faint crying could be heard in the distance. The man slowly approached it, his wife in tow. As they made their way through the thicket of bamboo and the fog composed of ash, the couple could see a tiny glow in the distance, appearing to be at the same place as the crying. Gradually it grew louder and louder the closer they drew, and finally, deep in the dense forest and now heavy ash, lay a tiny basket with a baby inside. The baby had golden blond hair and a mark unlike any other on his forehead. It glowed brightly and cut through the darkness caused by the ashy night. The mark vanished when the man placed his arm around the basket. He lifted it up into his arms, and turned to his wife. Tears streamed down his cheeks, as well as his wife's. The two of them quietly wept in happiness, because they'd been praying for years to have a child. Together they walked back to their tiny village taking the baby to their home for a good night's rest. The ash came to a stop, and vanished from the Earth when the sun rose the next day.

The man's name was Mamoru Takenaka, and his wife's name was Moriko. Both were known throughout the village for being kind and caring people. Together they built the village's clinic and tended to those in need since traveling to a hospital was a fleeting thought now. Everyone who came by the clinic seen the couple's new son, and asked what his name was. Simultaneously the two of them said 'Kazuhiko', and thus was born the village's first king, as was agreed by the people. The two of them dreamed their son would grow into a great man who would someday change the world. They did not wish to see it once again delved into a world of war. Violence was not welcome in this quite little village, so all of the townspeople lived harmoniously and helped to raise Kazuhiko. The infant quickly grew into a toddler, and showed an insatiable interest in his father's swords. Mamoru forbid his son from ever touching or wielding his swords, and said for them only to be used in great times of emergency. Mamoru hoped that at the young age of three, Kazuhiko would never have to experience such emergencies as he had when he was young. The samurai revival was not a peaceful nor pleasant one. At the age of sixteen, Mamoru was forced to abandon his home in search of better living conditions due to the growing crime in Kyoto, and after the collapse of technological communications and power sources not much was left in the once bustling city. Clans swept through large cities and claimed them as their own, forcing most people into the mountains, just like Mamoru. One day he stumbled upon the village of Hibayashi, and that is where his family lives today.

A few more years passed and Kazuhiko had grown to the age of ten. On his tenth birthday, an ominous storm took over the sky. The clouds were a dark, haunting gray. The wind blew inconsistently. One minute it pushed the villagers back, and the next minute it blew behind them, pushing them forward. It howls rivaled that of demons, and the thunder made it sound as if the Gods themselves were angry with humanity. Kazuhiko sat outside on his home's porch, watching as the rain poured down onto the earth and listened as it beat against the roof over his head like the percussion section of an orchestra. "You need to come inside!" his parents yelled, but Kazuhiko continued watching the chaos before his eyes. Strangely enough, he found a certain kind of joy in the storm. Kazuhiko rose from his seated position and ran into the eye of the storm, watching as the clouds swirled around him. The chill of the wind, the sound of it's howling, the droplets of rain thrown against his face. Every second of the storm was fun for him. That is, until he spotted a shadow shuffling through the trees surrounding the village. Kazuhiko dashed inside of his home and grabbed his father's arm, pulling him outside with him. The young boy pointed at the shadow within the bamboo forest and Mamoru left to investigate it. After the storm died down, Mamoru came back home with a small, wounded boy on his back. The boy couldn't have been any older than Kazuhiko, and was barely breathing. He appeared to have been stabbed by some sort of spear, so both Kazuhiko and his mother began dressing the wound immediately. Kazuhiko studied medicine under his mother's tutelage and was very adept for his age, being able to treat bite marks from animals in a matter of minutes. Everybody in the town knew Kazuhiko's dream. He said many times, "I want to be strong like my father, and gentle like my mother. I want to bring peace, and show people how to be kind." Sure enough, he'd already taken steps down that path. When the bot finally awoke form having his wounds tended to, he crawled back against the nearest wall, breathing heavily and fearfully. "Don't worry, this is a peaceful village," Mamoru continued, "What is your name little one?" The young boy's hair was the same color as a raven's feathers, and his eyes black as coal. "My name is..." he paused for a moment, as if he did not want to reveal his name, but still answered by saying, "Takahiro Oda." 


	2. Beginning of a Tragedy

Years went by since the arrival of the Oda boy. Takahiro and Kazuhiko were raised side by side as brothers. The two of them trained together, ate together, studied medicine together, and explored the forest together. One was never seen without the other in tow. The two boys were the village's pride, and made the land prosperous again, bringing in new villagers and increasing the revenue generated from gaining new businesses. However, with every great prosperity comes a great tragedy. One early morning in the later summer after his twentieth birthday, Kazuhiko was to travel to the region's capital to speak with the emperor about the town's taxes and the recent relocation of it's crops. However, one this morning the sun was not shining. Darkness covered the town, as well as the sickening stench of metallic blood. Cries rang throughout peoples' homes, and children scurried into the streets unprotected. Kazuhiko searched high and low in every business and his own home for his parents and brother, but none of them were found. Kazuhiko thought all was lost, and he was the only survivor in the village, then all of a sudden, a surge of energy jolted throughout his body. There was one place he hadn't checked yet. The secret place he and his brother created for their martial arts training.

Kazuhiko pushed the Earth's natural barriers of bamboo and giant boulders out of his way at breakneck speed. The scent of blood grew stronger and stronger with every leap he took, until finally he reached their sparring location. In the middle of the grounds stood Takahiro with their father's sword, clad in his usual black and white hakama, bloodied, and tired he turned to face Kazuhiko upon hearing the bamboo breaking away to form and opening. Kazuhiko leaped forward from the dense forest and almost tackled his brother, but pulled himself to a stop by digging his heels into the earth. Something seemed different about him. Something in Kazuhiko's mind told him this was not the same person he grew up with. A certain kind of darkness different from the rest held his body captive now, and Kazuhiko felt his own body begin to tremble. "Niisan. W-What's happened to you. Did you... slaughter the village?" said Kazuhiko. Takahiro looked up into the sky with a cynical smile gracing his lips. He began to laugh uncontrollably, and raised their father's side high into the air. Over night he'd transformed into a mad man, losing every ounce of his sanity. Takahiro's eyes looked around in all directions as he laughed, but eventually they settled on Kazuhiko, specially his eyes. Pure fear and terror mirrored the mad man's dark orbs, making the village's champion appear to be nothing more than a small child. "Oh great and wonderful Kazuhiko, champion of the village as our reigning king. Where's your pride? Where's your strength? You've won so many martial arts tournaments. Never lost a match. Always besting me in everything we done. Now you stand before me trembling like a scared child, like a dog with it's tail tucked between it's legs. You're not worthy of your title and stature. Our childhood meant absolutely nothing to me. Everyday I lived in your shadow. 'Your the king's brother?' 'Don't fall behind Takahiro.' 'You're strong, but not as as strong as the king.' they said. Those wretched people never cared for me. All they cared about was you! They're precious little king." said Takahiro.

He grabbed his brother's short, golden blond locks and dragged him over the the center cherry blossom tree the two of them watched bloom year after year as they trained. "My dearest brother, your biggest mistake was working with our mother to save my life. Didn't you think for one second that there was a reason I was close to death? I was cast out my own village, and for good reason. I'm much stronger than you could have ever been. My ancestor was the great Nobunaga Oda, and I intend to rule over all of Japan in his honor. It's my birthright as an Oda to have all of Japan in the palm of my hand. That day, you could have changed the world. You could have let me die like the trash I was. But you, like mother and father, were blinded by kindness." Upon ending his sentence, Takahiro pushed his brother against their sacred cherry blossom tree, and thrust their father's sword through his chest, pinning his brother against it. Blood squirt out of Kazuhiko's mouth and ran down his body. His eyes winced in pain, his arms hung limp, and all of the air in his lungs vanished. With the little strength he was able to muster, Kazuhiko said, "Niisan, this isn't you. You loved mother and father. They loved you. The village, everyone their raised us. You wasn't just my brother, you was my best friend. We promised to bring peace back to Japan. Mother and I saved your life. I loved you." Kazuhiko's hair appeared to lighten into the color white, and begin to grow longer rather quickly. Which could only mean one thing. He was of an Oni bloodline. Before his transformation could progress any farther, Takahiro grabbed a rock lying on the ground and bashed it over his brother's head, reducing the rock to dust, and causing the light in Kazuhiko's eyes to fade. Takahiro frowned at his cowardly act and said, "I could never call you my brother. I never loved you. Japan will be mine." Kazuhiko's hair returned to the normal blond color, and Takahiro dashed off into the forest, never to be seen again.

"Hey, wake up. Wake up." a voice echoed inside of Kazuhiko's mind. "Wake up. You're not dead yet," the voice continued, "You have a great journey ahead of you. Just like many others that have walked before you, you my son must protect humanity against the genma." The voice sounded, warm and familiar. Whoever this person was, Kazuhiko knew him. It was not Mamoru, but who else could have possibly called Kazuhiko 'his son'? A warmth washed over his body, and Kazuhiko opened his eyes. The sun shined brightly down on him, and the trees blossoms showered to the earth in front of him. The atmosphere was calm. Placing his hands on the sword's handle, he removed it from his body, and sat on the ground. His wounds healed almost instantly. From the time he was young, Kazuhiko possessed an ability to heal quickly, but nothing like this. He stared down at his hands and body, amazed at his speedy recovery. He took one large breath, and recalled the previous events. His life was a peaceful and quiet one up until now. His own brother betrayed him in an unforgivable way. It was true they were not brothers by blood, but in his heart Kazuhiko truly viewed Takahiro as family. They'd spent so many hours together, learned together, played together, won tournaments together. Was it all for naught?  
Kazuhiko heard a rustling emitting the forest surrounding the training grounds, and raised in father's sword in preparation for another attack from Takahiro. He loved him like a brother, but as the village's king he had to defend himself. From the thicket of bamboo walked a man clad in red samurai armor. His hair was long and black, his sword sheathed in onyx. A calm feeling came from the man, and Kazuhiko lowered his weapon. The mystery man approached Kazuhiko, and extend his hand out to him as a gesture of peace. Kazuhiko stood up and accepted the samurai's hand. It was obvious this person was not looking for a fight.

"My name is Yoshiaki Akechi, descendent of the legendary Samanosuke Akechi. I mean you and your village no harm. I came hear after hearing word of the atrocities and wanted to make sure the rising king was okay. It is my family's job to protect the royal. I see you are still alive, but what exactly happened?" said the man. Kazuhiko explained what happened to the village, and what happened between himself and his brother. "I see. Are there any other survivors?" Kazuhiko shook his head in a disagreement. He wanted desperately to believe his parents were still alive, but deep in his heart he knew that thought was futile. His village had been slain, and as the reigning king he had to seek vengeance for his people. "I must return home one more time. Living people are not, I am the king of that village. I will restore my land." Yoshiaki knelt down before the young man and said, "My village previously consisted entirely of ronin warriors, however I speak on behalf of my village and we would like to serve under your leadership, my lord." Kazuhiko smiled innocently like a child, and felt all warm and tingly inside, knowing that his accomplishments had reached another village. He humbly accepted and the both of them proceeded onward to the king's bloodied and beaten home.


End file.
